MySpurs

International A-Z

Andy Greeves explores the vast number of countries our players have represented on a letter-by-letter basis. The series begins with letter ‘A’ and covers Algeria and Argentina.

Algeria

Having previously played for France’s Under-19 team, Lille-born midfielder Nabil Bentaleb pledged his international future to Algeria back on February 15 this year. He received his first call-up for their friendly match against Slovenia on March 5, playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 win at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida, Algeria.

Bentaleb (pictured, right) subsequently played in the 3-1 friendly victory against Armenia at the Stade du Tourbillion, Sion, Switzerland, on May 31 and the 2-1 win over Romania at the Stade de Geneve, Switzerland on June 4 which saw him net his first goal for his country.

He made it into the Algeria squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, playing all three group games against Belgium (June 17), South Korea (June 22) and Russia (June 27). He was an unused substitute in knockout phase defeat to Germany on June 30.

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